MS-ToDo List

GIMP Tutorial

Perspective Tool:

Photoshop: Tips & Tricks

• 500 pixels = 17.64 cm = 6.944 inches
• Strg+ Left click on layer to select a marquee around the shape in that layer
• Image à Adjust à Desaturate (Shift+Strg+U): extracts colors out of the selected picture (depleting the image into a black & white mode)
• Layer à Overlay: makes layer transparent
• Rasterizing a layer: converting it into pixels to make it a paintable layer and looking pixelated so you may apply any filter to blur, distort or add texture to your picture. Once the layer is rasterized, it becomes a bitmapped image consisting of a series of tiny squared pixels. The opposite is a vectored graphic made of hundreds of thousands of tiny lines or curves which always appear smooth when enlarged e.g. font size. File types: .drw, .pif, .pct, .ps, .eps, .svf, .ai, .ait, .art, .cdr, .cdrw, .cdt, .pat, .dlg, .do, .odg. Photographs (.png, .tiff, .psd) are not vector graphics.
• To conveniently highlight an area of similar color, use Quick Selection Tool / Magic Wand Tool (W)
• Right click on desired layers and choose Duplicate Layer
• Use the Blur tool (R) to touch up the outside edge of a foreground, especially where the image seems pixelated. This will help to create a sense of transition between your foreground and background which is easier on the eye.
• To blur an image in Photoshop, select the area then choose from the main menu Filter > Blur > Blur: The Blur filter smooths the transition between color changes. The "Blur More” produces the same effect at about three times the strength of just “Blur.”
• Use Strg+F to repeat last command
• Or choose from main menu Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur: play around with different blur radii to create the background effect you want. The larger the radius, the blurrier the image, so for a subtle effect, aim low.
• Or choose from main menu Filter > Blur > motion Blur: modify "distance in pixel" value to desired fuzziness level displayed in the preview window then click OK
• Use Paint Bucket Tool (G) to fill selection with color
• With the Eraser Tool (E), adjust its opacity (expressed as a percentage) to influnece its removal efficacy. To erase as thoroughly as possible, use a high percentage value. But for edges, a low opacity can be used to create a softer, subtler effect. Applying low-opacity eraser repeatidely over the same ares has a cumulative effect, so opt for low opacity where necessary.
• With the Lasso Tool (L), adjust its feather (measured in pixels) to soften the edges of your selection, making the edges subtler and more forgiving. A good starting value is between 1 and 3 pixels. The higher the number, the softer your edges will become. To add to an already-completed selection, hold down the Shift key while continuing to select. To subtract from an already-completed selection, hold town the Alt key and select the area to unselect.

Source = http://pixelstreetstudios.com/photoshopCS3/index.html

How to straighten a picture in Photoshop

• Select Measure Tool under Eyedropper „I" from palette
• Click and drag a line along the currently-incorrect horizon
• Chose Image à Rotate Canvas à Arbitrary à OK
• If necessary, "crop" the picture to remove excessive background

Source = YouTube Video

ToDos

Clean:

• http://www.manscaping.info
• http://www.manscaping.info/Trimming.htm

Using:

• https://www.stopbadware.org/common-hacks

Remove warning:

• http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=45432

FotoShop Tutorial

To fill an area with color:

• choose magic wand tool (W)
• set tolerence = 1 then click on desired area
• to preserve text, choose lasso tool (L) then
• click on “add to selection”and
• click, drag & let go around a label to enlarge your selection
• choose PaintBrush tool (B)
• select desired brush size
• set painting mode = multiply {to preserve text}
• paint with cursor
• select è deselect (Ctrl+D) when done

Ø Source = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMsmeaWx78Y

Tutorial to create a transparent background in Photoshop

First if the layer is locked (padlock icon), unlock it by double-clicking on it.

• Method 1:

• select Magic Wand Tool (hit W)
• click on white background you wish to remove
• hit Del-key " (Entf or backspace) to delete it


• Method 2:

This option is only available in version 7 or higher:
• select "Quick Selection Tool" from magic wand menu (hit W)
• click and drag around the area you wish to keep
• copy the chosen area (Strg+C); click on eye icon to hide current layer
• create a new {2nd} layer and paste clipboard into it (Strg+V)
• delete original {1st} layer

• Method 3:

• click on "Select" è "color range" from drop-down menu. The cursor is already in sample mode (pipette) by default.
• using the colour-picker, chose white area in picture to select the background including all white pixels in entire photo (PS: white area in "color range" sub-window shows selected pixels; black indicates unselected parts)
• click on ok to release the eyedropper-tool and close "color range" sub-window. Then:
• either hit Del-key (Entf or backspace) to delete selection
• or click on "Select" è "Inverse" (Strg+Alt+I) to copy/paste area to new layer
• if there are any more white bits still left to remove:
• click on "Select" è "color range" from drop-down menu
• chose "highlights" from drop-down menu inside "color range" sub-window
• click on "ok" to close "color range" sub-window
• use "Eraser" tool (E) to apply it to selection by clicking the rubber circle on highlighted area
• hit Strg+D to deselect area

• Method 4:

• select "magnetic lasso tool" by right clicking on lasso tool then choosing the magnetic lasso tool from the popup menu
• select the area you wish to keep by clicking left-mouse-button along the edge of the desired shape until you loop it back on itself
• every left-mouse-button click creates a bullet point to remember the path. Hit Del-key (Entf or backspace) to delete previous bullet points; if wrongly placed
• make sure last click is on top of original starting-point to complete area
• choose "Inverse" (Strg+Alt+I) then hit Del-key (Entf or backspace) to delete selection

• Using GIMP:

• select: Layer » Transparency » Add Alpha Channel
• delete background
• export as PNG format

Additional notes:

• Use Strg+D anytime to deselect chosen area.
• Definition of "Anti-alias": when this option is selected, it will gradually smooth out the edges around the colored areas affected.
• Definition of "Tolerance": The Tolerance setting determines how different a color can be from the sampled color. When using the eraser or wand tool, set the tolerance based on the sampled color. The lower, the stricter! A lower tolerance limits erasing to the sample color and colors similar to it. If you increase the tolerance, the eraser brush will begin erasing more than just the sampled colors.
• Pictures containing transparent background can be saved in a variety of formats including GIF {poor quality}, TIFF, PNG {better quality}, SVG and PSD. Whereas JPG and BMP formats do not support transparency.
• GIFs only support up to 256 colours. This is why your quality is degrading. There is no way around this.
• The GIF format is not as good at compression as JPEG or PNG.
• GIFs are quite large or badly compressed files.
• PNG format is recommended for preserving transparency
• use GIF to animate layers
• If you find ugly edges around the image when you place it against a different background color, apply this solution.

Credit: Source

Related Useful Links:

• Tutorial on lasso tools.
• Create animated favicon.
• Online picture editor.
• Create multi-tabbed-widget in blogs.
• Create multi-tabbed-widget in blogs.
• Create multi-tabbed-widget in blogs.